A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry
DAY ONE
Before you read…
Who is Lorraine Hansberry??
~Chicago
~Father successful business man
~Difficulties while growing up (restrictive covenants)
~Educated
~Becoming a writer
~Success
~Death
**Tonight’s Homework #1: find 1-2 pieces of
information online about Hansberry or this play that
are important for us to know as we begin.
A Raisin in the Sun (1959)
~sparked a vigorous movement in black theater
A Dream Deferred
by Langston Hughes
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Questions to Think About…
1. List 2-3 goals (or dreams) under the following
headings~
a. One-year dreams:
b. Five-year dreams:
c. Twenty-five year dreams:
2. Pick on of your biggest dreams. Imagine that
making that dream come true will take 10 years
longer than you thought.
~How would you deal with this disappointment?
~How would this postponement affect your friends & family?
** Tonight’s Homework #2:
~read intro to play (p.829-830)
~take notes on pertinent information
DAY TWO
1. Turn in Homework
2. First Reading:
~Scene One p.830-841
~Scene Two p.842-850
** Tonight’s Homework #1:
~finish reading Scene Two
DAY THREE
1. Discuss Homework– Carl Hansberry
2. Quiz Act One
3. Discussion Questions
A Raisin in the Sun…context
~Hansberry v. Lee (1940)
**tribute to her father
~poor family…desperate situation
internal & external conflict
psychology & sociology
ACT ONE:
Questions to Think About…
Critical Thinking:
1. On p.834, Walter makes a blanket statement
about “colored women”? Explain. (Irony)
2. When Walter leaves for work, how could you
express Walter’s thoughts thus far about the
check in one sentence?
3. Are you surprised that Ruth suggests Walter’s
idea to his mother? Explain.
Symbolism
1. How does Mama’s plant “growing doggedly”
(p.836) symbolize the people in this play?
2. What comparison does Mama draw between
the plant and her children? (p.841)
Character
1. On p.838, Mama describes her late husband.
How does she characterize him?
2. How do her words about her husband help to
characterize herself?
3. What differences exist between Ruth &
Beneatha when it comes to marrying a man
with money? (p.840)
4. How similar are Beneatha and her brother
Walter? How are they different?
DAY FOUR
1. Reading: Act Two
DAY FIVE
1. Quiz Act Two
2. Discussion Questions
ACT TWO: Questions to Think About
Critical Thinking:
1. On p.857, Walter asks, “Ruth, what is it gets into people
ought to be close?” When they try to talk about why
they are having such problems, they reach no
conclusion. What do you think the playwright wants us
to understand as the cause of their problems?
2. What creates the conflict between Beneatha & George?
3. Scene 3 is full of reversals, in which sudden shifts take
place in the fortunes of the main characters. Discuss the
reversals in this scene. What is the mood at the
beginning of this scene and at the end?
DAY SIX
1. Reading: Act Three
2. Discussion Questions
Discussion Question #1
How does the play A Raisin in the Sun mirror
the social, educational, political, and
economical climate of the 1950’s and how
does the play illustrate the impact this
climate had on African Americans' quest for
"The American Dream?"
Discussion Question #2
The movie director Spike Lee writes “We all have
to ask ourselves, have things gotten any better
than when the play was written? I have to say
that I think they’ve gotten worse.”
Tell why you agree or disagree with Lee’s
statement.
Are the issues raised by the play still pertinent in
the United Stated today or are the issues raised in
the play outdated?
DAY SEVEN
1. Final Test
DAY EIGHT - Ten
1. Movie